These results are provided to show the vital statistic changes before and after a heart attack (July 2003). The improved results are significant as they were immediate and sustainable once I made a commitment to eating a low fat, natural foods, as grown, diet with no animal-based products including milk, cheese, yogurt, red meat, fish or poultry. The exercise was also a significant change as I had none before July 2003 and have rebuilt my strength since then to do 8-10KM of walking a day, every day.
Note: Cholesterol numbers shown in round brackets are American units of measurement (mg/dl)
| Test | July 2003 |
Oct 2003 |
Nov 2003 |
Jan 2004 |
July 2004 |
Oct 2004 |
June 2005 |
Dec 2005 |
March 2006 |
July 2006 |
|
| Total Cholesterol mmol/l (mg/dl) Lower is better Desirable – <4.8 ( 186.7) Ideal – <4.2 (163.3) |
4.7 (182.7) |
2.24 (87.1) |
2.18 (84.7) |
2.0 (77.76) |
2.33 (90.6) |
2.33 (90.6) |
2.68 (104.2) |
2.78 (108.1) |
3.69 (143.5) |
2.96 (115.03) |
|
| HDL Cholesterol Higher is better Male average – 1.2 (46.7) Female average – 1.4 (54.4) |
.78 (30.3) |
.61 (23.7) |
.63 (24.5) |
.62 (24.1) |
.72 (28) |
.70 (27) |
.76 (29.5) |
.85 (33.5) |
.81 (31.5) |
.84 (32.7) |
|
| Risk Ratio TC/HDL Lower is better Desirable – <4.5 Ideal <4.0 |
6.0 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 4.6 | 3.5 | |
| LDL Cholesterol Lower is better desirable – <2.8 (109) Ideal <1.1 (42.8) |
3.0 (116.6) |
1.09 (42.4) |
.78 (30.32) |
.80 (31.1) |
1.0 (38.88) |
1.10 (42.8) |
1.12 (43.5) |
1.28 (49.7) |
1.88 (73.1) |
1.57 (61.04) |
|
| Triglycerides Lower is better Desirable – <1.5 (58.3) Ideal – <1.1 (42.8) |
1.8 (70) |
1.18 (45.9) |
1.69 (65.7) |
1.6 (62.2) |
1.3 (50.5) |
1.17 (44.5) |
1.76 (68.4) |
1.76 (68.4) |
2.21 (85.9) |
1.21 (47.0) |
|
| Weight (pounds) Refer to height/weight Table |
168 | 151 | 151 | 151 | 151 | 151 | 152 | 152 | 154 | 154 | |
| Body Mass Index (BMI) Desirable – 18.5 to 24.9 Overweight – 25.0+ |
24.2 | 21.6 | 21.7 | 21.7 | 21.5 | 21.5 | 21.5 | 21.5 | 21.7 | 21.7 | |
| Systolic Pressure Ideal – <135 High BP – >140 |
150 | 124 | 129 | 120 | 110 | 120 | 120 | 120 | 125 | 120 | |
| Diastolic Blood Pressure Ideal – <85 High BP – >90 |
100 | 79 | 83 | 80 | 70 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 80 | 70 | |
| Pulse (Resting Heart Rate) Lower is generally better Desirable – <80 Ideal – <60 |
80 | 75 | 72 | 70 | 65 | 60 | 55 | 55 | 55 | 55 | |
| Glucose Desirable – <6.2 Ideal – 3.2 to 5.5 Diabetes – >7.2 |
5.5 | 4.2 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.0 | 4.0 | |
| CRP C-Reactive Protein <5.0 mg/L | 0.60 | 0.46 | |||||||||
| APO A1 g/L Higher is better Desirable – >1.10 |
1.02 | ||||||||||
| APO B g/L Lower is better Desirable – <1.25 |
0.60 | 0.80 | 0.73 | ||||||||
| (APO B/APO A1) Ratio Lower is better Desirable – <1.136 |
0.588 | ||||||||||
| Medication Metoprolol Altace(Ramipril) Lipitor |
New Medication Bisoprolol Fumarate, Trandolapril(Mavik), Crestor |
100mg 2.5mg 10mg |
100mg 2.5mg 10mg |
100mg 2.5mg 10mg |
100mg 2.5mg 10mg |
100mg 2.5mg 10mg |
100mg 2.5mg 10mg |
100mg 2.5mg 5mg |
100mg 2.5mg 5mg |
100mg 2.5mg no Lipitor |
5mg 1mg 2.5mg |
Results continued.
| Test | April 2007 |
August 2007 |
December 2007 |
December 2008 |
May 2009 | November 2009 | August 2010 | June 2011 | ||||
| Total Cholesterol mmol/l (mg/dl) Lower is better Desirable – <4.8 ( 186.7) Ideal – <4.2 (163.3) |
3.21 (124.74) |
3.73 (144.95) |
3.70 (143.85) |
3.90 (151.63) |
3.83 (148.91) |
4.09 (159.02) |
3.83 | 3.83 | ||||
| HDL Cholesterol Higher is better Male average – 1.2 (46.7) Female average – 1.4 (54.4) |
.78 (30) |
.95 (36.92) |
.96 (37.33) |
.81 (31.49) |
.81 (31.49) |
.85 (33.05) |
.78 | .73 | ||||
| Risk Ratio TC/HDL Lower is better Desirable – <4.5 Ideal <4.0 |
4.1 | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 5.2 | ||||
| LDL Cholesterol Lower is better desirable – <2.8 (109) Ideal <1.1 (42.8) |
1.43 (56) |
2.13 (82.77) |
2.20 (82.77) |
2.38 (92.53) |
2.35 (91.37) |
2.5 (97.2) |
2.4 | 2.2 | ||||
| Triglycerides Lower is better Desirable – <1.5 (58.3) Ideal – <1.1 (42.8) |
2.19 (85.15) |
1.42 (55.18) |
1.19 (46.26) |
1.61 (62.59) |
1.47 (57.15) |
1.56 (60.65) |
1.42 | 1.94 | ||||
| Weight (pounds) Refer to height/weight Table |
159 | 154 | 152 | 157 | 156 | 160 | 163 | 163 | ||||
| Body Mass Index (BMI) Desirable – 18.5 to 24.9 Overweight – 25.0+ |
22.2 | 21.7 | 21.1 | 22.1 | 22.0 | 22.5 | 22.7 | 22.7 | ||||
| Systolic Pressure Ideal – <135 High BP – >140 |
130 | 130 | 120 | 135 | 135 | 145 | 135 | 135 | ||||
| Diastolic Blood Pressure Ideal – <85 High BP – >90 |
80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 80 | 85 | 80 | 80 | ||||
| Pulse (Resting Heart Rate) Lower is generally better Desirable – <80 Ideal – <60 |
55 | 55 | 55 | 55 | 55 | 55 | 55 | 55 | ||||
| Glucose Desirable – <6.2 Ideal – 3.2 to 5.5 Diabetes – >7.2 |
4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.0 | 5.0 | 4.8 | ||||
| CRP C-Reactive Protein <5.0 mg/L | 0.42 | 0.42 | .71 | .72 | ||||||||
| APO A1 g/L Higher is better Desirable – >1.10 |
1.22 | 1.22 | ||||||||||
| APO B g/L Lower is better Desirable – <1.25 |
0.61 | 0.61 | ||||||||||
| (APO B/APO A1) Ratio Lower is better Desirable – <1.136 |
0.50 | 0.50 | ||||||||||
| New Medication Bisoprolol Fumarate, Trandolapril (Mavik), Crestor |
5mg 1mg 2.5mg |
5mg 1mg 1000mg Niacin |
5mg 1mg No Cholesterol Medicine |
5mg 1mg No Cholesterol Medicine |
5mg 1mg No Cholesterol Medicine |
5mg 1mg No Cholesterol Medicine |
5mg 1mg No Cholesterol Medicine |
5mg 1mg No Cholesterol Medicine |
||||
Here are a few notes to add even more relevance to the numbers.
The initial weight loss occurred over the first month of pain and suffering after the heart attack and subsequent triple bypass surgery. I’m 6′ tall and was considered skinny for a 48-year-old. Apparently there was extra weight on this skinny body after all.
The dramatic loss in cholesterol levels was a direct result of cutting out animal-based products including milk, cheese, yogurt, red meat, fish or poultry. Cholesterol only exists in animal-based food products. The smallest dose of Lipitor also helped to cut cholesterol even more.
At first, these measures seemed hard to do and even a bit cruel but faced with the facts I made a commitment to going to a 100% plant-based diet.
The results were immediate, measurable and as you can see – sustainable. I have also confirmed that I am steadily reversing the effects of clogged arteries and even reversing the blockage to the point where I will have removed enough coronary plaque and cholesterol from my arteries to have effectively tripled the flow of blood to my heart and other vital organs within 2 years of starting on this new cholesterol and fat-free diet.
Tripling the blood flow through the blocked arteries will go a long way to ensuring that I will live a long and healthy life without the need for further bypass surgery (bypass surgery is only a temporary fix of between 6 months to 10 years unless you make a drastic change in your lifestyle including diet, exercise and stress reduction). This will allow my old blocked arteries to regain their usefulness over time and negate the need for further bypasses.
The average North American consumes 50% of their daily calories from fat. I am on a diet that only has 10% of calories from fat. This is a reversal diet and matches the diet of 90% of the world that is too poor to have heart disease or stroke.
According to the World Health Organization over 90% of the world population eats a primarily plant-based diet and has total cholesterol of around 2 (80). They also don’t suffer from any of the top 20 killer diseases found in affluent areas like North America and Northern Europe. Imagine a world with no diabetes, no heart attacks or strokes or cancer. That’s their world.
The rest of the affluent world population (North America and Northern Europe, Australia) are much heavier and have an average cholesterol level of 4-5 (160-200) or in obese cases much more. They also have an epidemic in those 20 killer diseases that are proportional to their affluence (consumption of fat and processed foods).
Why? Because the poor populations in the world can’t afford to feast every day and therefore are spared the negative effects of too much fat and processed sugar and flour diets. These diets based on processed foods take all the good out and concentrate all the bad in.
The poor populations in the world can’t afford to squander precious little arable land on meat products that consume 16-24 times the amount of energy and grain to produce a pound of meat as compared to just grain. These people also eat food as it was naturally grown – full of essential vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals missing from processed foods. It is all they can afford and as a result of that they are generally much healthier and don’t suffer from our common killer diseases.
As evidence of this numerous studies have proven that any person immigrating to North America will catch up to our health problem statistics within 5 years of arriving and accepting our bad habits. Moving to North America is a real and verifiable health risk that is not tied to genetics – all races suffer the same health-related fate once they move here. The only thing inherited in this case is “bad habits”.
Be sure to check out our recipes to see how easy and enjoyable it is to make a positive change in your health.
Notes regarding the chart details.
July 2003 – heart attack and triple bypass surgery – switched to a Vegan diet – no animal-based food of any kind.
Oct 2003 – major Staph infection in chest wound – almost killed me – had to drain off 1 1/2 litres of body serum from around my lungs.
Nov 2003 – infection cleaned up and back on the road to recovery. Walking 5KM a day.
Jan 2004 – walking 8km a day and feeling better – starting to believe I have a chance at a normal life span again. Very strict monitoring of fat intake to about 25mg a day.
July 2004 – walking 8-10km a day – still feeling mysterious chest pains from wounds – not cardiac related. Blood pressure and resting pulse rate down to very nice levels.
Oct 2004 – walking 8-10km a day – feeling good and a little bit stronger every day. I still need afternoon naps every day. Starting to let up on fat intake restrictions.
June 2005 – walking 8-10km a day – decided to experiment a bit by cutting back Lipitor by half to 5mg a day – afraid of the potential damage to the liver from its use. Probably taking in 50-75mg of fat per day.
Dec 2005 – walking 8-10km a day – feeling good – not needing the naps any more to get through the day.
March 2006 – walking 8-10km a day – just finished an 8-week experiment with no Lipitor – nothing else in my routine or diet was different. Cholesterol went up – risk ratio getting too high for my comfort – decided to go on the lowest dose possible of Crestor
July 2006 – walking 8-10km a day – switched to very low dose Crestor instead of Lipitor and switched the blood pressure medicines to very low dose newer products – nothing else in my routine or diet was different. Cholesterol went back down – risk ratio also back to 3.5
April 2007 – walking 8-10km a day – still on Crestor and Bisoprolol and Mavik but slacked off on exercise and not watching every bit I eat for fat or calories as I also started working full time again to see what the effect would be. The result – I gained 5 pounds in the last year and blood pressure went up too much. Cholesterol went up because of an increase in triglycerides – risk ratio was also back up to 4.1 because the good cholesterol – HDL – was down from less exercise. Apparently, I am genetically predisposed to not having enough HDL and only exercise or intense doses of Niacin can bring it up. The increased triglycerides also point to STRESS and too much sugar in my diet. I guess it is time to cut out the yummy snacks again. It is an easy choice to let that go – the alternative is painful. I’ll make these changes and see what the next blood test in the fall shows us.
August 2007 – walking 8-10km a day – still on Bisoprolol and Mavik but switched to Niacin 1000mg a day to see if it could hold the line on Cholesterol and raise my HDL to normal levels. It worked!!!!! It also significantly lowered my Triglycerides which are usually a sign of stress when too high. I think this is a much better solution than statins like Lipitor and Crestor. I had to use the Flush variety of Niacin to get these results – I tried the non-flush 6 months before and it had no positive effect at all. So, I also found that you only get the flushing feeling if you stop taking it regularly. Basically, if you can stay high on Niacin you never get the flush rush. I found that going to 2000 mg a day – 500mg 4 times a day prevented the flush rush. If I miss one I get the flush on the next one again.
December 2007 – walking 8-10km a day – still on Bisoprolol and Mavik but switched to no cholesterol medicine and no Niacin – completely my own body reaction to my diet and cholesterol. Amazingly, total Cholesterol went down and Triglycerides dropped nicely – I expect the Triglyceride drop was due to less stress on my liver by dropping Niacin and Statins. The Risk ratio held steady at 3.9 so I am a happy camper with results like that.
December 2008 – walking 8 km a day – still on Bisoprolol and Mavik – no cholesterol medicine and no Niacin – completely my own body reaction to my diet and cholesterol. Total Cholesterol went up a bit and Triglycerides went up a bit. The Risk ratio rose to 4.8 so I am a bit worried about what lowered my HDL and slightly raised the LDL and Triglycerides. I expect it is a result of a bit less exercise and a bit more fat from nuts and olive oil in my diet. I guess I am going to have to cut out as much fat as possible again to regain the correct Risk Ratio.
August 2010 – walking 8 km a day – still on Bisoprolol – no cholesterol medicine and no Niacin – completely my own body reaction to my diet and cholesterol. Total Cholesterol went up a bit and Triglycerides went up a bit. The Risk ratio rose to 4.9 so I am a bit worried about what lowered my HDL and slightly raised the LDL and Triglycerides. I need to walk more to build up my HDL and lose about 5 pounds.
July 2011 – walking 8 km a day – still on Bisoprolol and Mavik – no cholesterol medicine and no Niacin – completely my own body reaction to my diet and cholesterol. Total Cholesterol went up a bit and Triglycerides went up a bit. The Risk ratio rose to 5.2 so I am a bit worried about what lowered my HDL and slightly raised the Triglycerides. I need to walk more to build up my HDL and lose about 5 pounds. Distracted by many wonderful things in life – probably eating too many nuts. I need to focus more on my health even though everything is in a very good range on my blood work. I know I need to do more.
February 2020 – walking 8 km a day – still on Bisoprolol and Mavik – no cholesterol medicine and no Niacin – completely my own body reaction to my diet and cholesterol. The Risk ratio dropped over the years as I continued the same regimen of essentially living as a vegan for 95% of the days and giving in a bit when visiting relatives that simply don’t understand why I keep doing this. My HDL will never be where it should be but keeping the cholesterol intake to zero has helped me thrive and kept the cholesterol where it needs to be in order to keep my arteries clear. I will always need to walk more to build up my HDL and keep systems in good health. I will continue to focus more on my health even though everything is in a very good range on my blood work. I know that I can’t let this slip or I’ll suffer again as I did 17 years ago. I am still distracted by many wonderful things in life which now include my married children and their children which now, at the age of 65, have become a wonderful reminder of how magical life is when you are young like my grand children or young at heart with health on your side.